Guest column: Challenges and solutions — The world is run by those who show up

I saw this on a bumper sticker the other day: “The world is run by those who show up!” That strikes me as exceptionally true.

Comment

By Tom Hilton/Special to The Oak Rdiger

Oakridger - Oak Ridge, TN

By Tom Hilton/Special to The Oak Rdiger

Posted Nov. 13, 2012 at 7:08 PM

By Tom Hilton/Special to The Oak Rdiger

Posted Nov. 13, 2012 at 7:08 PM

I saw this on a bumper sticker the other day: “The world is run by those who show up!” That strikes me as exceptionally true. People who “show up” to vote determine the direction of our nation; people who “show up” determine the success of our retail stores, in fact the success of all our businesses. And people who “show up” decide if the United Way of Anderson County (UWAC) can be there whenever our neighbors need our help.

***

Challenges

As a result of the economic conditions effecting Anderson County, there are fewer and fewer people to show up and assist our neighbors this year. UWAC is a reflection of the local economy and many difficulties face our residents and local employers due to the end of the ARRA stimulus dollars, the reduction in federal funding, the shifts in the federal contractors and subcontractors, and the security incident of July 28. All of these factors are impacting our annual community campaign. And they are impacting our annual United Way campaign. We are facing a substantial shortfall, a shortfall that will mean many of us will be unable to “show up” when our neighbor is in need. And so many more neighbors are in need than ever before.

***

Challenges

At the heart of United Way is a group of volunteers and staff who daily identify challenges and solutions, who “show up” to make our community a stronger and more vibrant place to live. Many of you have heard of the excellent success we had in the first year of the TNAchieves/AndersonAchieves partnership — 137 Anderson County, Clinton and Oak Ridge High seniors are currently enrolled in community college! Instead of hoping to get a job in this difficult job market, these 137 students now have options before them, and we have 137 more people to shop in our stores, live in our homes, share in our taxes and services. Students like Dalton.

Dalton entered TNAchieves in Knoxville three years ago. He followed his mentor's advice on his first day of classes and arrived 30 minutes early, found a good parking space, found the building, the washrooms, nearly everything for his very first college class. What he couldn't find was his classroom. After frantically searching for his classroom for 20 minutes, Dalton sent a panicked text message to his mentor explaining that he had followed the mentor's advice to the letter, but simply could not find classroom MWF. After a moment of reflection, the mentor realized Dalton's mistake, texted back and told Dalton to look one column over on his college registration form and there he would find the room number. When Dalton texted back that he did find his classroom, the mentor smiled knowing that had Dalton stopped a student to ask where room MWF (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) was, Dalton would have been so embarrassed, he never would have returned to school. Because Dalton's mentor “showed up,” Dalton graduated last spring from Pellissippi State with a 3.89 GPA and is now enrolled in UT's College of Forestry.

Page 2 of 2 - ***

Solutions

The solutions to these challenges come in many forms. Obviously, financial contributions are critical, ensuring there is food to go into Second Harvest's food backpack program cost money; seeds and fertilizer for low income families to grow their own gardens cost money; adaptive technology that enables seniors to age in place with honor cost money. And yet, volunteering is also very important to our neighbors. Delivering quality food for lunches and Keystone Adult Day program, being a scout leader, a mentor to AndersonAchieves, tutoring a young girl in math at Girls Incorporated are all vital to keep our community moving forward.

If you have given this year, thank you! If you have not, we ask you to give what you can. And a special appeal to those of you who used to give through the workplace, but stopped giving because of a change in where you work or your retirement. Please consider giving again. Few companies provide us your personal contact information. When you change where you work, frequently we lose touch with you. We know there are many of you who believe in our mission, had a life long history of supporting us, and then we lost touch. Call us at (865) 483-8431 or visit us at www.uwayac.org, we'd love to hear from you again!

***

UWAC and its 36 community partners with 63 vital programs address three core needs of our community: Basic human needs, youth development, and the needs of seniors. For more information, call (865) 483-8431 or visit www.uwayac.org.

Tom Hilton is chief executive officer of the Y-12 Federal Credit Union and 2012 United Way of Anderson County Campaign chairman.